Dan Rossi Takes the Polar Bear Plunge for Charity

Two years ago, Dan Rossi stood by on a freezing February day and watched a friend jump in the ocean. Last year, he did it himself. And this year, he did it again. 

Rossi, senior associate director of the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station in Rutgers’ School of Environmental and Biological Sciences, joined about 4,500 other swimmers in the annual Polar Bear Plunge on Saturday, February 26, in Seaside Heights. 

The swimmers paid $100 for the privilege and got several friends and relatives to pledge more in their support. Rossi’s plunge, and another in January in Wildwood, N.J., were sponsored by the Law Enforcement Torch Run for Special Olympics New Jersey, and the proceeds go to Special Olympics. 

“I’m not a person who goes into cold water – or any water, actually, unless it’s 70 degrees, and preferably, 75,” Rossi said. “But we’re doing this for the right reason.” 

The Polar Bear Plunge doesn’t require participants to be athletes, and in the past, they’ve come from all over the country and range from children of 6 to people in their 70s. The idea is to run full tilt for the water at the signal, immerse yourself, and get out as quickly as you can. In 2010, the water at Plunge time in Seaside Heights was 37 degrees Fahrenheit; it was expected to be about that cold this year. 

“It’s a numbing experience,” Rossi said. “It’s a shocking experience. But then I remember, it’s not about me, and the numbness goes away.” 

Rossi took the plunge clothed in swim trunks and enthusiasm, but he says many plungers dress for the occasion. “Some people go in dressed as Superman or Santa Claus or the Beatles,” Rossi said. “Last year, I saw someone jump in dressed in a tuxedo.”